I've been eating a few
radishes lately — the worms ate over half of one of my two rows — and
yesterday I had some turnip greens but for the most part not much is
happening on the gardening front.
I once heard that, after
planting, gardening is all abut the Three W's: weeding, watering and waiting. So this is what I've been doing. I go out usually every day.
When I miss a day, I'm amazed at how the plants have shot up.
I
look for and note the tiny green nodules that will grow up to be tomatoes.
I dig around weeds, pluck and toss them, roots-up, back into the bed. I
check the soil and water from plastic cans if it's dry.
But
mostly I stand with my hands in my pockets looking over my little plot
and saying things like "yup," and "all right then." That third W.
It's a good reminder that we're in relationship not in control.
The fourth W: wholeness. Relationship is weeding, watering, waiting and wholeness. While we do not spend the day watching a plant grow, we come back to it daily to marvel and the changes. Our garden is the same; not only are there new signs of life daily, but the shapes and movement the life takes is beyond description. At some point, I came to accept that the plant 'knows.' It knows where to grow, where to attach to a screen or pole for support, where to hide its flower beneath its leaves, and when to blossom. It knows, it feels, and it hears. Wholeness is like that: it grows where it grows best. Yet, it grows from the dirt and darkness. It is not in control but is dependent on being nourished. And when given care it blooms a fruit to be eaten by others for their sustenance, which is completely different than the plant's. Thus our differences sustain and nourish our wholeness when we care for each other. And there is a value in silence.
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